A 29-year-old PhD student at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) was found unconscious in the hostel washroom on Monday morning. Police say that she was taken to the hospital immediately, but doctors declared that she was brought dead. 

The student, Dipika Mahapatra, who was from Kharagpur, was pursuing PhD in Hindi at UoH. Police have said that she was found lying in an unconscious state in the washroom around 8am. Hostel mates who found her informed the university authorities, who rushed her to Citizens Hospital in Gachibowli by 8:30 am, but it was already too late. Police have said that no injuries were found on the student’s body The student’s medical records revealed that she had been suffering from neurological disorder and was under medication for epilepsy. 

A case has been registered at the Gachibowli police station, and investigation is underway. Police say that so far there is no suspicion regarding the circumstances of death. University authorities also believe that the student suffered from an epileptic seizure, and are awaiting the results of the post-mortem. 

In November last year, another PhD scholar from Odisha at UoH died from dengue. Rashmi Ranjan Suna, a native of Kalahandi in Odisha, had visited the University Health Centre complaining of fever and vomiting. He was later referred and shifted to Himagiri hospital, where his health condition worsened. Soon, he was shifted to another private hospital, Citizens Hospital, where he succumbed to his condition due to multiple organ failure.  

Students had protested the medical negligence by the University Health Centre, which referred the student to a hospital that had already been blacklisted by UoH authorities.  Students had demanded a compensation of Rs 25 lakh for the student’s family, as they were in a fragile financial state and the student had been the sole breadwinner for the family. The university eventually granted a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the family.